How to Ripen Avocados and More

Many of you have asked how to ripen and store tricky fruits and vegetables like avocados, bananas and pumpkins. To find an answer we assembled a crack research team and pulled them away from their desks and into the produce aisle. After plenty of testing (and sampling the goods) we're happy to say we learned a thing or two, plus we're feeling healthier from eating all the samples!

Most people aren't sure what to do with avocados, but even though they look intimidating, they're actually similar to most other fruits. Avocados will ripen slowly if left on the kitchen counter for a couple days. To speed things up, you're going to have to use a little technology- a brown paper bag.

Paper bags are perfect for ripening fruit because they trap ethylene gas, a compound released by fruit that speeds the ripening process. The bags keep the gas close to the fruit while still allowing some ventilation. Certain fruits, especially apples, produce plenty of ethylene, so adding them to the bad with your avocados and bananas will kick the process into high gear. At that point, you'll want to check on the fruit every day to make sure ripe doesn't turn to rot. Besides avocados, paper bags are great for ripening mangoes and bananas. Keep the bag dry and out of direct sunlight for best results.

For the funky kiwi, we found that a plastic bag with some holes works best, though paper bags were fine too. Pumpkins ripen best when exposed to sunlight, so place them on a window sill for a couple days and then put them back on a shelf or in the shed.

Once your avocados and bananas are ripe, toss them in the fridge where cold temperatures slow down the ripening process. It's also important to keep them away from other fruits, which will expose them to unwanted ethylene when they're already ripe enough. We also like to put ripe fruits in places we can see them, which helps us remember to eat them.

One last tip: once you cut into an avocado or apple, the fruit exposed to the air will begin to oxidize and turn brown. To slow that down, spread on some lemon juice, lime juice or olive oil, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. Turns out, the avocado pit doesn't do any good!

All this talk of avocados made us hungry, but luckily our site has over 8,000 avocado recipes for you. With all these ripe tips, we think you're going to want to do some cooking. To help, we used the FoodPair Recipe Search Engine to find some tasty dishes featuring the avocado. Ripen away!

Green Apple Guacamole
This clever recipe pairs avocados with the apples used to ripen them.
Ingredients: Green Apple, Avocado, Cilantro, Jalapeno Pepper, Kosher Salt, Lime Juice, White Onion

Pan Seared Salmon with Avocado Remoulade
This healthy dish makes great use of avocado as a sauce.
Ingredients: Avocado, Olive Oil, Salmon, Shallot, Parsley, Salt, Black Pepper, Lime Juice, Dijon Mustard

Chipotle Chicken Panini
Here, avocados balance the tangy chipotle seasoning on the chicken.
Ingredients: Avocado, Olive Oil, Country Bread, Chipotle Seasoning, Mayo, Monterey Jack Cheese, Chicken Breast


Enjoy! If you liked this post, share it with your friends!

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Your Thanksgiving Guide has Arrived!

Thanksgiving is one of the biggest and best food holidays in the world. Within a couple days we'll be feasting on our favorite cuts of turkey and all those fantastic sides like stuffing, mashed potatoes, fresh cranberry sauce and dinner rolls to wipe up anything we missed.

Earlier, we explained how to make the best Thanksgiving turkey. This year, we'll be pairing that succulent turkey with new-school side dishes like mashed blue potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes with banana and brown sugar, plus rustic stuffing with greens, currants and pine nuts. Now we're ready to bring it all together with our Guide to the Ultimate Thanksgiving meal.

Our Guide hits the 4 keys to a great meal: a refreshing cocktail, classic roasted turkey, tasty stuffing and flavorful gravy to tie everything together. We like to pour gravy over everything, including the turkey, sides and stuffing. But, we know some people like to keep it on the side for dipping, which is also cool.

As we do for every major culinary event, we turned to the FoodPair Recipe Search Engine and used our personalized filters to build our ultimate Thanksgiving feast.

Thanksgiving Star Cider
We like to start things off with a light & refreshing cocktail.
Ingredients: honey, lemon juice, star anise, red wine, pear nectar, dried hibiscus blossoms

Roast Vermont Turkey with Gravy and Vegetable Stuffing
This complete recipe pays homage to the original Thanksgiving.
Ingredients: fresh turkey, lemon, apple, onion, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, bay leaf, vegetable oil, leek, turkey stock, giblets, hard-boiled egg

Brined and Roasted Turkey
This top-rated recipe guarantees a perfectly cooked bird.
Ingredients: turkey, brine (recipe follows), unsalted butter, onion, orange, celery carrott, bay leaf, thyme, stock (for basting)

Thyme-Infused Gravy
We love gravy enhanced with fresh herbs.
Ingredients: pan drippings from turkey, butter, thyme, flour, white wine, kosher salt, chicken broth, salt, pepper

Bourbon Gravy
Kick that gravy up a notch with the caramel notes of bourbon.
Ingredients: giblets and turkey pan drippings, flour, garlic powder, bourbon

Classic Mushroom Gravy
Vegetarians will love this gravy with chopped, fresh mushrooms.
Ingredients: fresh turkey stock, dried porcini mushrooms, butter, white mushrooms, salt, pepper, flour, Madeira

Sausage and Kale Thanksgiving Dressing
This stuffing is packed with tasty sausage, fresh kale and more.
Ingredients: Parmesan, egg, butter, leek, sausage, kale, focaccia, kosher salt, pepper, turkey stock, butternut squash


Now that you have all the recipes you need for Thanksgiving, it's time to start cooking!

Any other favorite themes, ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! Like us on Facebook for helpful updates in your news feed.

New School Thanksgiving Sides

Thanksgiving is almost here! With one of the biggest and best food holidays right around the corner we knew it was time to start planning a great feast. Sure, most of us will eat as much turkey next week as we do for the rest of the year. But, it's the side dishes that can really steal the show on turkey's biggest day.

Since we love stuffing and mashed potatoes, we decided to highlight new school versions of these classic Thanksgiving sides. These days everybody loves bacon so we found a loaded stuffing recipe from Food.com that also features pear and pecan. On the potato front, we've got blue potatoes plus two sweet potato dishes without all the marshmallows. Don't get us wrong, we love marshmallows and sugar on mashed potatoes, but they've graduated to the classics category at this point.

To sort through all the new school Thanksgiving side dishes we used all the features of the FoodPair Recipe Search Engine to find 6 great dishes that'll wow your guests.

Rustic Stuffing with Greens, Currants and Pine Nuts
We love adding greens and pine nuts to stuffing.
Ingredients: garlic, olive oil, butter, pine nut, onion, thyme, bread, dried currant, lemon peel, chicken broth, mustard greens

Stuffing with Pears, Bacon, Pecans & Caramelized Onions
Stuffing loaded to the max!
Ingredients: butter, bread, bacon, pecan, pearl onions, brown sugar, pear, celery, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, eggs, chicken broth

Dried Apricot, Shallot and Hazelnut Stuffing
This stuffing has a great mix of savory and sweet.
Ingredients: garlic, olive oil, shallot, butter, hazelnut, parsley, thyme, sage, bread, salt, pepper, chicken broth, dried apricot

Blue Potatoes Mashed with Roasted Garlic
Blue potatoes are our new favorite!
Ingredients: blue potatoes, roasted garlic, sour cream, butter, Parmesan, salt, pepper

Rosemary Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Shallots
Shallots and Rosemary put a new spin on a classic.
Ingredients: extra-virgin olive oil, shallots, brown sugar, sweet potatoes, rosemary, sea salt, pepper

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Bananas and Brown Sugar
Bananas? A little secret from the kitchen at Le Cirque.
Ingredients: sweet potatoes, banana, unsalted butter, heavy cream, cinnamon, light brown sugar, pepper


Now that you have recipes for great Thanksgiving side dishes it's time to start cooking!

Any other favorite themes, ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook for helpful updates in your news feed.

Chopping an Onion without Tears

Is it possible to chop an onion without tears? Many of you have asked us that question. After a couple hours (of sometimes painful) research, we're happy to report that the answer is Yes.

Chopping onions without crying is a big deal because so many recipes use onions for flavor. They're staples of many cuisines and FoodPair's recipe search engine has over 100,000 recipes with onions for your cooking pleasure. If you're going to cook you can't live without onions, but you can live without the pain and tears. Onions cause us to cry when they're cut because they release a gas that reacts with the natural tears in your eyes to form sulphuric acid. That's right, the pain is caused by sulphuric acid, the most dangerous thing they would let us play with in high school chemistry class!

So, how do you avoid onion stink-eye?

1. For starters, work in a well ventilated area and use a sharp knife. Dull knives break more onion cells and release more of those noxious fumes you're trying to avoid.

2. Next, work near an open flame. A kitchen candle or gas stove will do the trick because the flames knock out the harmful compounds from the onion.

3. Chill your onions. Putting any onions in the freezer or fridge for 15-30 minutes before chopping will also cut down on tears.

4. Other options. There are a couple other ways to avoid tears, but we found them a little odd. One is to chop the onion under running water. Sounds cool, but we lost a lot of the pieces down the drain. Another is to put vinegar on your cutting board. Again, that works fine, but you'll have to put up with everything smelling like vinegar, which isn't the best.

With all this onion info, you're going to want to do some cooking. To help, we used the FoodPair Recipe Search Engine to find some tasty dishes featuring the onion. Chop away!

French Onion Soup
We're huge fans of this classic French soup.
Ingredients: onion, fresh thyme, bay leaf, salt, butter, flour, dry white wine, beef broth, pepper, baguette, Gruyère, Parmigiano-Reggiano

Caramelized Onion-and-Goat Cheese Bread
These little toasts are a great appetizer.
Ingredients: pecans, butter, sweet onion, sugar, garlic, goat cheese, salt, pepper, baguette, honey

Roast Chicken with Herb Butter, Onions & Garlic
Onions are a great complement for roast chicken.
Ingredients: butter, parsley, thyme, rosemary, fennel seeds, salt, roasting chicken, onion, clove, chicken broth, dry white wine, flour

Spiced Lamb Burgers with Caramelized Onions
It's hard to beat candy apples with a twist.
Ingredients: clove, cumin seed, cinnamon, mint, parsley, onion, salt, cayenne pepper, ground lean lamb, olive oil, hamburger buns


Now you're ready to slice and cook all those onions. Enjoy!

Any other favorite themes, ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook for helpful updates in your news feed.